Imagine if it had been raining hard!

Total opposite conditions from day prior.

Watching Pidcock chase it did look like he’d lost confidence. I saw him climb off, just couldn’t see why. Although MvdP appeared to as well, then roared back.

I hope it doesn't catch on, but I still wonder about the one race a week "trend."
One commentator Sunday (sorry, I can never keep them straight) commented that Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado's legs looked like jelly on a run-up just a few laps into the race. If I were Ceylin, finishing just off the podium to three 20 year olds who didn't race Saturday, I might be wondering now...

X2O leader Betsema looked even worse, and from the start. Vos didn't even go to World Cup start line for the second week in a row -though reportedly planned this time. Vantourhenout didn't have good legs. Pidcock arguably started to crack near the end - he nearly stalled on one the ramps shortly before he went down.

Sweeck skipped Saturday, and it arguably paid off with him leapfrogging Iyserbyt in the World Cup standings. Though Iserbyt himself did very respectably, just 22 seconds off MdVP who had been going full gas well into the last lap.

What's the procedure on who gets to line up in the first row?

Pidcock had to start a few rows back last week but was more toward the front this past week.

MvdP started in the fourth row this past week (and really wasn't that affected by position).

Or maybe they should "handicap" the big three to make it more interesting...

Yeah, I always feel sorry for the racers who race Saturday and then have to go up against fresh racers on Sunday. But the guys only racing on Sunday are foregoing start money and series money. I would like to see a women's race this year where Ceyline and Denise show up fresh to battle the big 3 (Fem, Puck, and Shirin).

Depends on the race. For World Cup, it's World Cup standings for the first 8. Then it drops to UCI ranking after that. For other series like Superprestige or X20, I believe it's the standings for those series.

World Championships call-ups go off World Cup rankings, so one goal of Pidcock/MdVP/WvA is to do enough World Cups to crack the top 8. The DNF definitely hurt Pidcock in that regard. But it's not the end of the world - Pidcock is 5th ranked in UCI CX points, so he'd in the first couple of rows even he doesn't make the top 8.

MdVP, on the other hand, has a motivation to win some races because he's currently ranked 50th, which is fairly bananas. Apparently UCI points decay very quickly.

"I don't have the weight and power of Mathieu and Wout"
-Tom Pidcock
Cycling News

Sunday he wasn't picking the best lines, either.

I think he was getting a bit cocky. Early on he was taking lines and risks that no one else would, almost showing off a little. Though I understand to beat MdVP on a power course maybe that's what you have to do.

I'm also not a fan of how Piddles quit. He put his bike on his back and walked slowly right down the middle of a singletrack racing line, forcing the 4th place finisher Nieuwenhuis to veer around him. If he had still been trying, that's fine to run down the middle. But he'd clearly quit by that point. And Joris was in striking distance of the podium at the time.

I’ve been amazed Tommy Boy can ride with those bigger guys on power courses. And that he beat Wout at Brabantse and lost by a tire at Amstel Gold… the lad is crazy talented (obviously).

With a proper bit of terrier energy to go along with all that talent

Is Tom racing both days this weekend or is he saving up to do proper battle with MvdP and Wout on Sunday?

According to GCN yesterday, Mathieu will be racing Superprestige on Saturday, but Tom wasn't sure yet.

I hope Tom doesn't race Saturday so MvdP faces a fresh Wout and Tom on Sunday. It might make Sunday's race more interesting.

So awesome they're squaring off. The cycling drought is over.

I am excited! I have the entire season of cross to catch up here in a few weeks when I have surgery to have all of my old hardware removed. I haven't followed anything here or cycling related mostly at all, but a mate said Rebellin was killed by a truck on the motorway recently.

What a sad way to go.

Worse yet, it was a hit and run.
Witnesses say the driver stopped, looked, then fled.
Since identified and found in Germany.
Apparently had previous hit-and-run, and a DUI.

Maybe for of a meme post, but who here thought sponsor Royal A-ware was in the sewage business (perhaps b/c I've seen too many port-a-potties with royalty-related names)?

Their display at the races is a balloon 18-wheeler (I thought, big truck for big sewage tank), but I had to look them up to realize that the tank was containing dairy product rather than dairy byproduct

Another crash for MvdP when he was comfortably in the lead. With his history of knee injuries I sure wish he'd focus and pick his moments so that he has a long career.

Yeah, it was that kind of race where you start googling random Belgian sponsors.

Though it was a nice little 2-up duel in the women's race.

for tomorrow my heart says puck but my head says fem. those long sandy stretches ought to suit her diesel power.

relatedly, i reckon the young guns are playing it smart by 'only' racing once per weekend rather than twice - considering they race other disciplines, too, i think that they've chosen a good approach for a long-term career. they could probably jump into superprestige and win a bunch of races too, but get burned out in a hurry.

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

For Sunday I'm going with Fem and Wout.

Race looked over on first lap… right up until that moment. And it seemed so benign, must have been like ice.

Just noticed on Strava he rode on Zwift tonight so wonder if something tightened up on him. Hopefully not a back issue either.

I wonder what he screamed at his race crew just prior...I wonder if maybe he thought his tire pressure was too high. Though the male GCN announcer said tire pressure doesn't matter on cobbles. Which I find an odd statement given the intense discussions on pressures and widths prior to every P-R. Maybe he meant that any CX pressure is already below "cobble pressure."

And meanwhile the Omloop countdown is underway and we still have a slightly tarnished Grand Tour winner and an aging legend without teams.

Yeah, odd comment. Hopefully he’ll be good to go. Gotta be a little tough for Pidcock too, he’s probably tired of landing on the ground 2 weeks running.


Did someone say Omloop? Hopefully McNulty will come out of hibernation by then.